The catalogue for the inaugural exhibition of the Disney Gallery at Disneyland in 1987 (the gallery that was situated above the entrance to The Pirates of the Carribean ride in New Orleans Square). The inaugural exhibition featured conceptual and inspirational art for the theme park by Herb Ryman, Marc Davis, Mary Blair, Peter Ellenshaw, Sam McKim, Harper Goff, Dan Goozee, and others.

Foreword by John Hench, who was then senior vice president of Walt Disney Imagineering:

“I count myself as a rather fortunate person. For the past 48 years of my professional life, I have had the joy of working with the men and women whose art comprises this ‘Art of the Disneyland' exhibition.

“As artists, they are a colorful and high spirited group, full of fun and camaraderie. But, most remarkably, they share a deep belief in the importance of their work.

“As part of the small team, which created the original designs for Disneyland in the early 1950s, I can vividly recall how strongly we believed in the park—before it even existed. We were not creating an amusement park—we felt we were creating history, something our children's children would inherit and cherish.

“Of course, the man responsible for that faith, who could elicit faith in a dream, was Walt Disney. Walt encouraged devotion to one's work. After all, that was what drove him.

“Walt Disney really believed in giving an audience your very best. ‘I think they'll like this' or ‘That's not good enough for them' were phrases often heard from Walt. He never let us forget that our efforts could not be selfish or self-indulgent; we had a responsibility to every man, woman and child who came to Disneyland.

“Walt believed in people, in their ability to make good and wise decisions, given all the choices. At a time when amusement parks were bumper cars and carnival games, Walt believed the public would embrace a place designed for beauty and happiness. The critics predicted Disneyland would fall on its face; ‘Disney's Folly' they called it. They were wrong. Walt was so right.

“Besides fun and happiness, Walt must have known that people are also searching for reassurance. We all need an occasional pat on the back; yes, we're going to be all right, we're going to make it.

“That was always Mickey's message. The good-intentioned little guy always managed to come through and end up a hero. t Disneyland, that spirit of optimism is everywhere, even in the design of the buildings. On Main Street, we took the optimistic architecture of the Victorian era, eliminated the unnecessary or contradictory elements that often had crept into real turn-of-the-century Main Streets, and wound up with an unmistakably cheerful message.

“I suppose we became very adept at distilling the essence of archetypal design forms, of capturing their original vitality, and using them as our ‘artist's pallette' for Disneyland.

“Walt Disney always wanted to see an art gallery at Disneyland. I think that The Disney Gallery again will prove that this seemingly most contradictory juxtaposition-an art exhibition in a theme park-can not only work, but actually will enhance both the art experience and the theme park experience.

“Walt, you were right again.”

(The Disney Gallery was originally established to showcase artwork from Walt Disney Imagineering, but occasionally presented art from other parts of The Walt Disney Company. The Gallery was located above the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction from 1987–2007, the Bank of Main Street building from 2009–2013, and inside the Disneyland Opera House (the lobby of The Disneyland Story Presenting Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln) from 2013 till its closing in 2024.)